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Chaotic Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Dave swallowed hard. Punk and Felicia sat next to him in silence. They looked at him with faces that expressed the decision was his, perhaps making it a bit too clear that they were trying not to pressure. He looked down at his hands. His clothes, though dried a bit, was still damp from the rain. The wet clothes was more comfortable than the situation he found himself in. The decision he would make could be the difference between his death, and his survival. There was no way of knowing which end of the decision, the yes or no, hosted life or death.

The sound of stairs creaking broke his thoughts. Riker had walked down, rubbing his eyes.
“I couldn't fall asleep,” he said and sat in a chair that leaned against the wall. He looked over at Punk.
“What's the matter with the doc? He looks shaken?”
“We told him about our plan, and left the decision to him on whether or not he joins us,” Punk replied.
“Decision? Not much of a choice is there?”
Felicia and Punk looked at Riker. Riker looked over at Dave.
“Your options are simple, you can await death here, or put your faith in your own hands.”
He stood up and walked into the kitchen. He came back with a glass of water and drank half of it.

Dave was still looking down at the ground. A cold sweat was on his forehead.

At that moment, Okami walked into the room. He looked at Dave.
“So, is this a new guy?”

Okami was a tall fellow. He wore a white T-shirt and a pair of cargo pants, small stains on the pants. He had a faint mustache and had dark hair. His skin was slightly tanned.

“Yeah.” Punk said. “He's our doctor.”

“He's wet. Why doesn't he change his clothes?” Okami said.

“We don't have clothes for him here. That brings me to my next point. We're running low on supplies here,” Felicia said. “We need to go out and get three essentials, some non-perishable food, weapons and medical supplies.”

'Weapons?' Dave thought to himself. He swallowed hard.

“The plan is to split up for now. Riker and Dave will go down to the local hospital and Dave will get some supplies. Riker will back him up in case there's a threat there,” Punk said.

Dave's eyes widened slightly.

“Felicia, Okami and I will go to an armory on the outskirts of town. There, you can get weapons. Since Felicia was in the Navy and Okami has experience in gun manufacturing, they're perfect for picking out effective weapons. I've scouted it out and it's abandoned. I don't think there's any other refugees there, and the place might not even have weapons, but we have to try and see,” Punk added.
“Hold the hell up!” Riker blurted out, putting the glass down. “Why do I have to babysit the doc? I wanna go to the guns place!”

“Riker, we know you have an infatuation with firearms, which is exactly why you're not going,” Felicia chimed with a grin. “You with guns? Not a good idea.”

Riker slumped back into his seat and folded his arms.

“Afterwards,” Punk continued, “we'll regroup. We'll take the car and we'll get off at the armory. At that point, Riker and Dave will continue back to the town and go to the hospital. In a half hour, you'll come back for us.”

“A half hour might not be enough,” Felicia added.
“She's right. Who knows how it'll take for us to find the right medical supplies,” Dave said. “Much less you guys going through the armory. We should be thorough.”

Punk nodded. “Sounds right. How about two hours?”
“Too long, who wants to be in a hospital for two whole hours?” Riker whined.
“Hour and a half.” Okami said.
“Noooo.”
“That's what we're doing, Riker.” Felicia said.
Riker pouted.

“Alright. We may as well head out,” Punk said.

A few hours later, they pulled up to the armory. It was nighttime and the armory, as most buildings in the city, was dim, with no lights on. Okami had figured the building might be one of the many with no power, so he brought flashlights in a gym bag, along with three crowbars. Okami, Punk and Felicia stepped out of the car. Punk was wearing his sweatshirt again. Okami was wearing a sweater with the sleeves rolled up and Felicia had on a red hoodie that was zipped up over jeans. They walked over to the door and Riker pulled off, pulled a U-turn and headed back towards the city.

“You ready?” Felicia asked her friends. They nodded. Punk tried the door. Surprisingly, it was locked.

“Who's locking doors to places like this nowadays?”
“The door is probably obstructed, it must be broken or something.” Okami said.

Punk reached into the bag and walked over to the door. He used it to pry it open a bit, and pulled it open the rest of the way. The trio walked into the armor and looked around. Felicia took out a flashlight and shined it around the room. Punk and Okami followed suit and moved into another room, shining their lights around, looking around. None of them noticed the outline of the dark figure that watched them from around a corner.

About a half hour later, Riker and Dave pulled up to the hospital. Riker parked on the side, rather than in the front. The two men got out, each carrying a gym bag. Riker's had things inside, while Dave's was empty. Riker reached into his bag and pulled out a crowbar. He used it to smash a window.

“What are you doing?” Dave asked.
Riker looked back at him and with a half smile said, “It's funner than going through the door.”

He used the crowbar to clear out the rest of the glass and hoisted himself through the window. Dave sighed and shook his head.
“You comin' or what?”
Dave reluctantly moved towards the window. With some struggling, he made it through. He jumped down and fell to one knee. Riker laughed softly and took out a flashlight. He flicked it on and shined it around the room. They were in a hallway, and there were several doors leading into rooms. To Riker's left, a door led into a large waiting room. Riker scrunched up his face, remembering hours he spent in the waiting room as a kid. He always hated having to wait in them, especially when he wanted to sleep. He shined it around and saw a light switch on the wall. Dave had seen him focus the light on it. Riker started walking towards it.

“What are you doing? This place probably has no power whatsoever.”
Riker flipped the switch and some of the lights dimly lit up. It was just enough to see that the hospital, like most buildings, was apparently empty. Chairs were overturned, glass on the doors and windows cracked and shattered. Dirty and damaged walls and floors. The Events had a done a number on the world.

“The stuff we're looking for is further down this hallway,” Dave said, pointing down the hallway. Riker nodded and the two started down the hallway. As they did, a light above them flickered, and went out.